Science, Method, and Argument in Galileo

Maurice Finocchiaro received his undergraduate education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, majoring in “Humanities and Science,” specifically philosophy and physics. He did his graduate work in philosophy at the University of California-Berkeley, specializing in logic and philosophy of science: in logic he adopted an empirical and practical approach that emphasizes argumentation, reasoning, and critical thinking; and in philosophy of science he adopted a historical approach that aims to learn about the nature of science by studying important episodes in the history of science (e.g., the Copernican Revolution) and the work of great scientists (e.g., Galileo). He went on to teach at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, such courses as introductory philosophy, introductory logic, critical thinking, logical theory, history of science, science and religion, and philosophy of science. This teaching experience led him to find excellent material in Galileo: Galileo’s scientific achievements for the historical approach to the philosophy of science; Galileo’s trial by the Inquisition for the study of science vs. religion; and Galileo’s critical argumentation about the earth’s motion for the empirical approach to logic. This background and these experiences encouraged and sustained Finocchiaro’s scholarship, which received the support of awards from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, American Council of Learned Societies, and Guggenheim Foundation. His books include Galileo and the Art of Reasoning; Defending Copernicus and Galileo: Critical Reasoning in the Two Affairs; Arguments about Arguments; Meta-argumentation; and On Trial for Reason: Science, Religion, and Culture in the Galileo Affair.

• Introduction.- PART I: GALILEAN ARGUMENTS.- Chapter 1. Rejection of Space-Proportional Speed.- Chapter 2. A Galilean Fallacy of Equivocation.- Chapter 3. Explanation of the Law of Squares.- Chapter 4. Arguments for and against the Earth’s Motion.- Chapter 5. Critique of the Ship-Experiment Argument.- PART II: COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS.- Chapter 6. Socrates, Galileo, and Marx as Critical Thinkers.- Chapter 7. The Trials of Bruno and of Galileo.- Chapter 8. Galileo’s Daughter: The Book, the Movie, the Facts, and the Issues.- Chapter 9. Galileo’s Father: Method and Argument in Musicology and Astrophysics.- Chapter 10. Painting vs. Sculpture in the Cigoli Letter.- PART III: FOR OR AGAINST GALILEO OR THE CHURCH.- Chapter 11. The Berkeley Para-clerical Approach.- Chapter 12. Prison and Torture as False but Well-Founded Myths.- Chapter 13. Galileo under Fire and under Patronage.- Chapter 14. Religion vs. Science and Science vs. Religion: McMullin on the Church and Galileo.- Chapter 15. Legal Formalities and Improprieties: Mayer on the Inquisition Trying Galileo.- Chapter 16. Charity, Logic, and Para-clericalism: Agassi on Explaining Galileo’s Trial.- Chapter 17. Authenticity vs. Accuracy vs. Legitimacy: Pagano on the Vatican Documents.- PART IV: GALILEAN SCHOLARSHIP.- Chapter 18. Shapere’s Galileo: Philosophy vs. History vs. Erudition.- Chapter 19. Koyré’s Études galiléennes: Critical Reasoning vs. A Priori Rationalism.- Chapter 20. Feyerabend’s Against Method: Rationalism vs. Pseudo-irrationalism.- Chapter 21. Wallace’s Galileo and His Sources: Suppositional vs. Demonstrative Reasoning.- Chapter 22. Drake’s Essays on Galileo: Science vs. Philosophy.- Chapter 23. Camerota’s Galileo Galilei e la cultura scientifica: Disobedience vs. Heresy.- Chapter 24. Crombie’s Galileo’s Natural Philosophy: Disputation vs. Demonstration vs. Argumentation.- Bibliography.- Index.